It’s not news that Android QWERTY sliders, once the staple of midrange and even luxury smartphones, have become few and far between. Sprint’s current hot handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy S III and HTC Evo 4G LTE, are both card-carrying members of the massive screen and razor thin club. With its bright 4.3-inch screen, Android 4.0 software, speedy Snapdragon S4 processing, and a truly sweet keyboard design, the $ 199.99 Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE is the best Android typer Sprint has offered for years. If you’ve been holding out for a keyboard phone and don’t mind waiting for Sprint’s LTE network to expand, the Photon Q is for you.

Motorola’s cool new QWERTY, the Photon Q 4G LTE (pictures)

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Design

If you’ve seen the Motorola Droid 4 for Verizon up close, then the new Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE on Sprint will look very fa…………… continues on CNET

Besides the Razr Maxx, Motorola’s other Razr, the Razr V, comes sharing much of the same looks but with a little something different. Unlike the rest of Motorola’s Android handsets, the Razr V lacks physical keys. Instead, like the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, the V uses software buttons.

Upside

If you loved the slimness of the Motorola Razr, then you won’t find the Razr V out of place. The handset is just 8.35mm thick at its thinnest point, and if you like slim smartphones, the Razr V will definitely attract.

While the main overall design resembles the other Razr handsets, the V lacks physical menu buttons. Instead, it uses software keys as it runs Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s also the first handset from Motorola to not run Gingerbread (Android 2.3) first before being upgraded. We like the fact that someone out there is at least paying attention to Google’s buttonless design (found on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus).

Furthermore, if you like the Motorola Razr’s design (as we did), the Razr V will not feel out of place. It also sports the same Kevlar fibre material used in the back, and comes with the same splash-guard water-resistant nan…………… continues on CNET Asia